Children's Day, Book Day

By Beth Giudicessi

Young writers meet literary heroes at annual festival of stories and culture

“Do you know that a regular, yellow, number two pencil is filled with enough lead to write about 40,000 words?” asked Arizona Poet Laureate and University Professor Alberto Rios. “That is a book. Every pencil is literally filled with a book.”

Rios was addressing middle and high school students gathered for Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, or “Children’s Day/Book Day,” an event sponsored by Arizona State University’s Department of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Phoenix Book Company, and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The day-long celebration was started in 2011 by English education doctoral candidate Tracey Flores and English professor James Blasingame to bring students together with authors and performers whose experiences reflect those of the many Latina and Latino youth in attendance. Now, “Día,” as it’s often called, is expected to draw at least 650 attendees—more than twice as many participants as the program’s first year.

“At Día, we celebrate youth, cultures, languages, and literacies by encouraging youth to realize the power of their voices,” said Flores.